the most " English"-looking animals they can find. 

 And in nearly all cases they have been bred from 

 English stock. 



To show to what an extent this foreign trade 

 is being carried on, it is only necessary to refer to 

 the annual returns of horses imported into this 

 country. The following table of foreign imports 

 speaks for itself: — In the ten years between 1863 

 and 1S72, foreign horses were imported into these 

 islands to the extent of only 29,131 head; but in 

 the corresponding ten years, between 1873 and 

 1882, no less than 197,092 head were imported. 

 How can this alarming increase be accounted for ? 

 Supposing these animals to be of the value of .^^35 

 each, we have a loss to this country of ^5,850,600. 



It was stated in the Daily Telegraph only as 

 recently as the 24th March last: — " Seven years ago 

 one of the greatest authorities upon the subject of 

 horseflesh that ever entered a stable, concluded a 

 letter with the following inquiry: — 'What then has 

 become of our boasted English horse ? Those that 

 I now see are for the most part tall, leggy animals, 

 without bone or action, and not fitted to make a 

 hunter or a carriage horse, or a riding horse up to 

 any weight.' " 



Similar opinions to the above were expressed 

 by many witnesses who appeared before Lord 

 Rosebery's Select Committee of the House of Lords, 

 in 1873. That Committee sat seventeen times, heard 

 evidence, and finally reported that "The deficiency 



